Men's dress shirts, and especially the collars, have evolved greatly over the past 200 years. Many different designs and devices have been created in order to attain a collar that appears crisp and professional. In recent years, many businesses and professions have reduced the formality of the required attire, adopting a dress code commonly known as business casual for many situations. Many modern dress shirts are based on a design that relies on being worn with a tie in order to keep the collar closed around the neck. Even collared shirts that are not intended to be worn with ties are often based on a similar design. Shirts that are worn without a tie, leaving the top one or two buttons unbuttoned, often look sloppy. One problem that often arises is that the collars lie flat. Another problem is that the collars spread outward creating an undesirable appearance.
Numerous methods have been attempted to improve the appearance of the collars of dress shirts that are worn without a tie, or similarly designed casual shirts. Of course, ironing with starch helps make the collars look more crisp, but this look may not last all day and provides limited control on the height and shape of the collar, which is mostly determined by the crease designed into the shirt. It also requires time and/or expense to iron and starch the collar.
Many methods are based on a design that creates an attachment between the collar and the shirt body. One example of this method is the button-down collar. Some methods shape the collar by using adhesives to attach the collar to the shirt body. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,361 B2 issued Feb. 28, 2006 to Thomas discloses the use of a collar-shaping device that employs an adhesive coating.
Magnetic collar stays have also been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,813,264 B2 issued Aug. 26, 2014 to Boos discloses an apparatus for magnetically holding a shirt collar in a position and orientation on a shirt front.
While many of the known methods and devices are useful, improvements in collar shaping devices are desirable.